List of The Official Big Top 40 Christmas number ones facts for kids
In the United Kingdom, a Christmas number one is a song that is the most popular on the UK Singles Chart during the week of Christmas Day. These songs are often fun, silly tunes, songs made for charity, or ones with a Christmas theme. People buy a lot of music around Christmas, so getting the top spot is a really big deal! It's even more special than being number one at other times of the year.
Sometimes, the Christmas number one also becomes the best-selling song of the whole year. Lately, many Christmas number ones have been by winners of reality television shows or songs raising money for good causes. The Christmas chart is usually dated for the end of the week that includes December 25th. The most recent Christmas number one on The Official Big Top 40 was "Christmas Drillings" by Sidemen.
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What is a Christmas Number One?
A Christmas number one is the song that sells the most copies in the UK during the week when Christmas Day happens. It's a very special achievement for musicians. Being number one at Christmas is seen as more important than being number one at any other time of the year.
Why is it so Special?
Christmas is a time when many people buy music, either as gifts or for parties. This means that record sales usually go way up! Because of this, getting the top spot on the charts during Christmas week is a huge honor. It shows that a song is incredibly popular with the public.
Types of Christmas Number Ones
Over the years, many different kinds of songs have reached the top spot at Christmas.
- Novelty songs: These are often funny or unusual songs that people enjoy for a bit of fun during the festive season.
- Charity songs: Many artists release songs to raise money for important causes, especially around Christmas. These often become very popular.
- Christmas-themed songs: Of course, songs about Christmas itself are often big hits during this time of year.
Recent Christmas Number Ones
The following table shows some of the songs that have been Christmas number ones on The Official Big Top 40 chart in recent years.
| Year | Artist | Song | Weeks at No. 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Rage Against the Machine | “Killing in the Name” | 1 |
| 2010 | Matt Cardle | “When We Collide” | 2 |
| 2011 | Military Wives, Gareth Malone and | “Wherever You Are” | 2 |
| 2012 | The Justice Collective | “He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother” | 1 |
| 2013 | Pharrell Williams | “Happy” | 2 |
| 2014 | Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars | “Uptown Funk” | 7 |
| 2015 | Justin Bieber | “Love Yourself” | 6 |
| 2016 | Clean Bandit ft. Sean Paul and | “Rockabye” | 7 |
| 2017 | Eminem ft. Ed Sheeran | “River” | 3 |
| 2018 | LadBaby | “We Built This City” | 1 |
| 2019 | “I Love Sausage Rolls” | 2 | |
| 2020 | “Don't Stop Me Eatin'” | 1 | |
| 2021 | Ed Sheeran and Elton John | “Merry Christmas” | 3 |
| 2022 | Sidemen | “Christmas Drillings” | 1 |
